Tarot 16

Tarosophist International

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Tarosophist International

Editor Jon Kaneko-James

Forge Press ISSN 2040-4328 Tarosophist International is published by Forge Press, 1 Wood Cottages, Old Windebrowe, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 4NT (UK).

www.tarotprofessionals.com www.forgepress.com Tarosophist International is the magazine of Tarot Professionals, an organisation for tarot readers and students who are interested in innovative and inspired tarot for contemporary application. Subscriptions are free to all members of Tarot Professionals, and a PDF copy of this magazine is available at cost to nonmembers. A screen-readable version of Tarosophist International is available to members on the Members site, and a printed B&W version is available at cost to members and non-members through the print-ondemand service, LULU.

Table ofContents The Golden Ratio inTarot by Astrid Amadori Tarot Magic andChange by Katrina Wynne Esoteric Tarot inthe German Speaking World by Steph Myriel Es-Tragon

Bringing Tarot toMagical Life by Diana Granger-Taylor

Inner Guide Meditation by Marcus Katz

The views and items in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Tarot Professionals or the editor. All material remains copyright to the respective author and is not to be reproduced in any medium. Please do not pass this magazine to others. Non-members are encouraged to subscribe to our regular free newsletter, The Tarot-Town Lighthouse. Tarosophy® and Tarot House® are registered trademarks.

Inner Guide Meditation Journey by Tali Goodwin

Tarosophist International

Cover Image

This issue’s cover image comes from the Light Grey Tarot, a project by the Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis. The Light Grey Art Lab are an educational institute, involved in a number of outreach projects, art projects, courses and exhibitions. The Light Grey Tarot is a full, 78 card deck produced by 78 different local artists, each one in a uniue and slightly differing style. We chose the Ace of Swords, by Lindsey Nohl, one of the designers at Light Grey Lab and a product designer at Paper Bicycle Creative. The deck is available for pre-order on lightgreylab.com and Lindsay’s work is at cargocollective.com/lindseynohl

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A short glimpse atthe golden ratio in Tarot By Astrid Amadori

Nature brings forth a never-ending variety of forms and colors, of which all creation consists. Scientists try to archive all life in lists, chemists deconstructed life into the periodic table so we can have an organized view at the mechanisms of life. Humans always want to categorize and like to bring order to this mass of life forms that populate our planet. Meanwhile, nature has already her own blue print of how to build and arrange life forms in many ways. What appears so harmonious and perfect to us when we look at the small wonders in nature like a snail shell or a fir cone, is formed on the basis of a well known pattern: the golden ratio. More than we know is aligned by this system; actually most of the plants we see are somehow related to the golden ratio and its kinsman, the Fibonacci spirals. In art, the golden section was and is very important, when artists and architects thrive to create coherent and harmonious pictures, sculptures and buildings. This applies of course not so often to modern art anymore, but in modern architecture we still find the golden ratio very often. The Tarot as ancient instrument of course also contains proportions based on the golden section. Examining it can be a great help when it comes to understand the cards, or in case you would like to create a set of cards yourself. To analyze the composition of the Tarot, we best look at „classic“ Tarots, like the Tarot de Marseille. Its Major Arcana was a guide for most of the following tarots. The area-dividing ratio used in “The Moon,” or “The Devil.”

The Moon and The Devil

“The Fool” with the golden spiral.

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Tarosophist International In another very useful tarot, the one owned by BOTA, let us look at “The Emperor,” “The Lovers” and “The Hermit” with the golden spiral.

Emperor and Hermit

“The Hermit” with the golden spiral

Also, the golden ratio is a popular way to define the actual size of the images in Tarot. As we can see here on our pictures, the Fibonacci sequence, which reached unexpected fame through the book “The da Vinci Code” is closely related to the golden ratio. If we look at this picture we see that both evolutions work similar.

The Fibonacci sequence develops when you add always one number in a row to the following number and so on: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 22… Applying this sequence to Tarot, we get a popular card-spread to meditate on. Many thoughts have been written down on this topic, and we may begin with that there Page 

Tarosophist International

are primal forces to be found which evolve: The Fool (The essence of life-energy, still formless), The Magician (the one who works like a collector of energy who is able to direct it in our world, The High Priestess (The spring of the prima material), The Empress (natural creation), The High Priest (a connection to the higher self), and then “an ending in three acts”: Justice, Death and World (to be understood as Birth).

Interesting is also, that in one of the few systems of how to correlate the Hebrew letters to the 22 Trumps of the tarot claims that the 3 mother letters are arranged according to the Golden ratio: Aleph to 1 (Magician), Mem to 13 (Death) and Tau to 21, the World. There has also been the question about what the golden ratio within the trumps actually is, and this one is an noteworthy as well as complicated one, since there are worlds of views clashing before one could answer it universally. Different systems of correlations within the tarot are the reason. It starts when defining how the major arcana are to be arranged, especially how The Fool is to be seen. It is correct to say that we should see the major arcana as a 21’ margin, because the Fool is zero and therefore as a number non-existent, not measurable. BUT if we have for example a ruler to measure, it actually starts with zero and not with one so the zero IS there. Two eligible approaches. Still, the golden ratio of 21 or 22 is in the direct area of the card without name, also known as Death. So, death is the harmonious middle of our life? If we see death as rebirth, it could make sense. It is very tempting to dwell on pure mathematics shortly after beginning to examine the golden ratio and its correlations to tarot. We can divide and add, compare with Phi and then arrange in the golden ankle, but when working with the Tarot we should not lose our focus on the pictures. Math is strongly connected, but what makes us understand the Tarot is its images that communicate with our sub consciousness. And so, let us also understand the golden ratio as an image that it truly is: a way of nature to create growth in a harmonious way, ever more beautiful and manifold ad infinitum.

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TAROT MAGIC ANDCHANGE

by Katrina Wynne

Excerpted and summarized from the book Transformative Tarot Counseling™ by Katrina Wynne, M.A., professional Tarot counselor and teacher

“Magic is a series of psychological techniques so devised as to enable us to probe more deeply into ourselves.” — Israel Regardie The Art of Magic Magic is the art of transformation, changing from one form to another. Tarot teaches about transformation through its symbols, dynamic archetypes of change, and the journey it portrays with its twists, turns, jumps and falls along life’s path. I call this the “Sacred Journey of the Soul” which unfolds through the major arcana of the Tarot and radiates throughout the minor arcana. This same “Hero’s Journey” with its stages of development and change appears in Swiss psychoanalyst Carl C. Jung’s writings in what he described as the Individuation process, the personal “Alchemical” journey of one’s soul, the unfolding and discovery of one’s authentic and deepest self. In his little book, The Art and Meaning of Magic, Israel Regardie (Golden Dawn) lays out the four stages of magic, drawn from his extensive experience in the occult, then influenced by his study of Jung’s stages of personal alchemy in therapeutic change. These same principles can be applied to working with Tarot, either with yourself or with clients, to support a deeper experience.

Regardie and the stages of magic Regardie’s basic stages of magic:

I.

Divination — accessing intuition



II.

Evocation and Vision — evoking “spirits”



III.

Invocation — integrating the essence, union with God



IV.

Initiation — repeating the process with others

Divination According to Regardie, the objective of divination is the development of the inner psychic faculty of intuition. When we apply intuition, we build a bridge between our Page 

Tarosophist International conscious awareness and our higher self. We enhance our deeper spiritual nature and our ability to tap our source of inspiration and life, thus, making it available to our ordinary awareness, to our conscious mind. As readers, we use Tarot cards as a tool to tap into this initial stage of magic and transformation.

Evocation and Vision The stage of evocation is more obscure and difficult than divination. Spirits are evoked, stirred from their sleep, or their roles are called into question. Once viewed, these spirits can represent our greatest fears and nightmares, or life’s sweetest blessings. Regardie relates these spirits with his study of Freud and Jung and the term “complex,” a constellation or group of mental factors with a strong emotional charge, capable of influencing conscious thought and behavior. In Jungian psychology, this complex is called an archetype, a universal pattern of experience. Each card in the Tarot deck is associated with an archetypal law, lesson, or experience in life. This step in the magical way is to “personalize” the spirits, to invest them with tangible shape and form, and to give them a definite name and quality. In the reading, cards are selected, characters are named, and identified with, or disowned as other or evil. Dynamic relationships emerge, with contrast and duality becoming the tools of this stage. I call this the “Dance of Duality.” Once at least two distinct spirits are evoked, they begin to dialogue or dance with each other, from their unique points of view. What is the meaning of them coming together? What awareness can they inspire in each other or merged together? How does one catalyze the other? Do they complete each other in some way? These two spirits, characters, or cards represent a duality or split that invites healing, reconciliation, or merging. Duality comes in many forms, most notably: me and you, us and them, feminine and masculine, inner and outer, etc. But duality is not always this simple. In a Tarot reading, it can appear as conscious and subconscious, familiar and unknown, attraction and repulsion, to name a few possibilities. Jung saw this challenge of duality as a necessary step to psychic integration, and expressed that consciousness itself is a product of the tension between opposites. In other words, it is the contrast with other that gives rise to awareness, like a mirror, reflecting an image back to us so we have something to compare…the difference that makes a difference. When we consider this dynamic tension in a reading, we open the door to higher awareness and inner balance. Once this contrast of interests is established, the cards’ spirits, or energies, begin to exchange, compare, even dance. What started as opposites begin to make inroads to understanding each other. How do these spirits or archetypes need each other? Are they dual aspects of the client’s inner life as well as outer world? What kind of relationship might develop between the two? Is there hope for unification? Page 

Tarosophist International When a Tarot reader applies the awareness of dynamic tension to a reading, it becomes a dance, a story, personal myth, and ultimately a vision of possibility for the client’s life at that moment. This vision was evoked by the dynamic interaction of the cards, symbols, spirits, and archetypes present in the reading. Once several spirits have been evoked, either through a one-card reading, or through the process of laying cards in a spread, the spirits begin to interact with each other. Dynamic qualities from each archetype emerge and contrast or blend with the other energies in the card or cards, laying the groundwork for a new pathway as the story unfolds.

Invocation Invocation is our homecoming, returning to a holistic awareness of self and spirit, a “Return to Source,” as expressed by Rowena Patee Kryder. Regardie explains, invocation has “…as its objective the necessary assimilation of the unconscious content of the psyche into normal consciousness. Its object, also, is the enlarging of the horizon of the mind by enlarging the student’s intellectual conceptions of the nature of the universe.” To invoke the vision evoked by the second stage “dance” of the magical art is a process of integration and inner identification with all parts of the awoken spirits. No longer do we fall into dualistic preferences for one or the other, but find a middle way that includes the essence of both and recognizes them as once partially or completely hidden aspects of oneself. Then, “as above, so below,” we identify our oneness with the Divine. In Jungian psychology, this journey is called the individuation process. Here we reclaim our “shadow,” or disowned parts of our psyche in order to be more whole. When we are able to integrate the various and challenging aspects of our lives, they no longer have power over us. We move away from dualistic thinking and reacting, while drawing closer to the divinity of “Spirit and Light and Love.” Tarot as a magical tool inspires such awareness. Various techniques may be employed to reach integration. Meditation upon an image that symbolizes your newfound identity may provide an outer mirror to inspire inner awareness. Re-membering the vision or story of your magical course and imaging the actualization of this new pathway in life can be the first step to walking it in your outer life. Some people find great support in joining groups of like-spirited folks who empower a new way of being. Now that the spirits of the Tarot cards have been evoked and danced, we are asked to integrate their guidance and wisdom into life. If the querent has divined their own meaning of the cards, conceived of unique solutions, and taken personal responsibility for their decisions, then they are on the road to integrating the guidance of the spirits in their reading. This emphasizes the importance of the reader taking a more passive yet supportive role in the reading process. A professional Tarot reader can be like a Sacred Doula, or midwife, for the querent’s experience. Page 

Tarosophist International Here is the magic that Regardie teaches. We each have the capacity to deeply explore the spirits at work in our psyches and to resolve our personal challenges in a way that honors life’s process, thus bringing us closer to our divine selves. The individuation process is completed with this third stage applying the art of magic and transformation. We unite process and outcome, journey and destination, wave and particle of quantum physics, the alpha and the omega, the individual with the Divine, as we realize wholeness and holiness.

Initiation Once we travel this path of magic, identify the parts and bringing them into harmony and integration, we then develop the strength, insight and patience to assist others in their “Sacred Journey.” The student becomes the teacher, the Tarot client becomes the reader, and we guide the process for others by becoming a mentor for their learning. Experience is the best teacher and as teachers we then support the opportunity for others to brave their shadows, evoke their unconscious spirits, and guide them to new experiences and fuller awareness. “The end result is illumination and ecstasy, a transporting of the consciousness of the Magus to an identity with the consciousness of all that lives, an ineffable union with the Light, the One Life that permeates all space and time.”

– Israel Regardie, Magic in East and West

Katrina Wynne has her M.A in Counseling Psychology. Her private practice moved to the Oregon Coast in 1992 where she continues to reside. Katrina’s Tarot studies began 40 years ago, with 22 years of developing her Transformative Tarot Counseling™ style of reading. Information about Katrina’s classes, private sessions, and publications can be found at: http://TarotCounseling.org. You can also visit her weblog at: http:// MySacredJourney.org

Recommended reading Banzhaf, Hajo. Tarot and the Journey of the Hero (Samuel Weiser, 2000) Greer, Mary. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006) Jette, Christine. Professional Tarot: The Business of Reading, Consulting & Teaching (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2003) Mindell, Amy, Ph.D. Metaskills: The Spiritual Art of Therapy (Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications, 1995) Wynne, Katrina, M.A. An Introduction to Transformative Tarot Counseling: The High Art of Reading (Yachats, OR: Sacred Rose Publishing, 2012) Kindle version available on Amazon Zweig, Connie & Abrams, Jeremiah, editors. Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1991)

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The Esoteric Tarot inthe GermanSpeaking World by Steph Myriel Es-Tragon

How did the “Esoteric Tarot” - i.e. the association of the Tarot with the Kabbalah and other occult systems originating in France (Gébélin, Lévi, Papus) and further developed by the Golden Dawn and its offshoots – find its way to other countries, for example Germany/Austria? I will give a few illustrative glimpses in the following article, knowing quite well, this is far from an exhaustive treaty.

Occultism in the German-speaking Lands The German-speaking areas of Europe have a rich occult heritage. Among the luminaries of the Renaissance revival of Hermeticism based on the triad Alchemy, Astrology, Kabbalah have to be counted Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim (14861535), his mentor Johannes Trithemius (1462- 1516) and many others in the 15th century. From the 17th century, and particularly in the 18th century Rosicrucianism became the focal point of occult teaching and practice in Germany, Austria and Bohemia, mainly within secret orders. From the late 18th century “lower” and usually rather public forms of dealing with the ‘supernatural’, namely mesmerism and spiritism, were popular (eventually giving rise to serious studies of parapsychology). Also, down from the 15th century - some claim even earlier - developed a variegated and often quite original card-making industry to cater to the increasing number of players in all walks of life. Playing “Tarock” came to a peak in the 18th and 19th centuries; today it is still popular in the South of Germany, Austria and other regions formerly belonging to the Habsburg Empire. It is a matter of debate (and more research) when fortune telling from cards became current. Without any doubt, it received a boost in the 19th century. This is borne out, for example, by the “Lenormand”-Cards in fact originating in Germany around 1800. The “esoteric tarot”, however, was as elsewhere an import from France.

Enter: The Tarot The first example seems to have been Etteilla’s “Book of Toth” (sic!), mentioned in the Zauberbibliothek of Georg Conrad Horst in the beginning of the 1850s, followed by a further edition of the publishing house Scheible in Stuttgart in 1857 . But successful transplantation required indigenous mediators. Still, until WWI no widespread use or discussion of tarot cards seems to have taken place. At least there have not been any German publications on the subject. Page 10

Tarosophist International The first German treatise of the Tarot – and the first esoteric deck - was “Der Tarot - Die kabbalistische Methode der Zukunftserforschung als Schlüssel zum Okkultismus”, authored by Ernst Tristan Kurtzahn (1879-1939) in 1920. Kurtzahn, a shipbuilding engineer, freemason and kabbalist, member of the OTO and from 1924 of the Gnostica Ecclesia Catholica, was able to use the library of another occultist, one Dr. Hummel, who had a collection of French literature, including works of Papus and Lévi. The “Tarut-Daïtyanus” (named for Kurtzahn’s pen-name) included with the book was based mainly on Etteilla. With great self-confidence Kurtzahn compared his deck to others such as the Marseilles Tarot, Wirth’s version and “Pamela Colman-Smith-Westcott’s” (sic!), among others, arguing for the superiority of his own, because he showed on his Major Arcana their correspondences to the Hebrew letters (including their pronunciation and their numerical value). The kabbalah was of key importance to him. In his book of some 110 pages, he traced the history of the tarot back to various mystery schools and secret societies and discussed fortune-telling and magical uses of the cards, including several spreads and a table of rather funny “keywords” for interpretation. It is outside the scope of this article to discuss Kurtzahn’s tarot in detail. Its value is mainly historical. Kurtzahn, deploring the ignorance of German occultists concerning the tarot, made one big exception: the writer Gustav Meyrink. To him he referred as “the well-known cabbalistic writer” and he even dedicated his book to “Meyrink – the poet of the Golem”. Indeed, Meyrink’s very popular novel, “The Golem”, which appeared in 1915, included one key chapter, where tarot cards played a role. By his own admission, Kurtzahn was motivated by this book to undertake his study and Meyrink may overall have contributed to kindle an interest in the tarot. Also, in the 20s appeared Frank Glahn’s “German Tarotbook” (Deutsches Tarotbuch) and the “Original German Tarot”. Glahn (1865-1941) tried to combine Egyptian, kabbalistic and astrological symbols as well as runes in his deck, which gave rise to controversies but also acclaim.

Glahn sympathised or pretended to sympathise with the Nazis, but this did not save him from their repression in the so-called “Astrologer’s razzia” 1941, when he was dePage 11

Tarosophist International ported to the camps, where he died in the same year. His deck was re-published after the war, but is now out of print

Gustav Meyrink: the Tarot in “The Golem” Meyrink (1868-1932) is remembered today mostly for his fantastic and occult novels, namely “The Golem”, “The Green Face” and “The Angel of the West Window”. He was the first notable German writer of dark fantastical tales after E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822). Meyrink’s life is almost as fantastic as his novels and much of it is still surrounded by mysteries. Born out of wedlock of an aristocratic father and an actress he grew up in various places due to his mothers profession, ending up in Prague in 1883, where he remained until 1904. Prague, always a multi-cultural city (Czech, German, Jewish especially) and one full of mysteries and occult legends, at that time was a node for artists and writers, taking inspiration from its past grandeur and its present fin-desiecle gloom. Meyrink was deeply affected by the city, attracted and repulsed all his life. Few have described its atmosphere where the very buildings seem to lead a menacing life of their own more intensely. When he received his inheritance from his father he opened a banking enterprise in Prague (1889), though friends attested him an incredible naiveté in money things. In the next few years he led the life of a well-known eccentric and involved himself in various occult practices. This interest in occultism became definitely serious after he was deflected from his intention to shoot himself by the delivery of a spiritist leaflet titled “After-life” (1889). This event he saw as the intervention of a “pilot with the mask of invisibility over his face”. From then on he never ceased to follow this pilot in his quest for “seership”. In later autobiographical notes he said about these early years in Prague: “I was obsessed with the idea of experiencing spiritualist phenomena. Any visionary, prophet or fool on the loose in Bohemia attracted me as an electrostatic rod attracts scraps of paper. I invited dozens of mediums and held séances lasting half the night at least three times a week with a few friends which I had infected with my monomania” (quoted in Mitchell). Among the numerous organisations he joined was the Theosophical Society (1891, for 3 months), which led to the foundation of the “Lodge of the Blue Star” in Prague. Meyrink was its president, lecturing from English sources to its members. He corresponded with English and French occultists and organisations, including SRIA, and Westcott, joined various other lodges and secret societies. Some sources even count him as a member of the Golden Dawn. In those years he spent most of his inherited money on mediums, drugs and his occult library without getting closer to his goal. The next turning point came in 1891 when he discovered his faculties for inner visions, which he believed to come through the “pilot” from his own inner planes. In later years he identified this event also as the key to becoming a writer. His change of career was sealed, when he fell very ill with a spine disease, which it Page 12

Tarosophist International took him a long time of intensive yoga practices to overcome to a certain degree. Also, his banking career, and indeed, his whole life in Prague came to an end, when he was accused of fraud and put into prison. Though he was eventually able to clear himself, he was ruined as a banker and moved to Vienna, where he became editor of the satirical critical magazine “Der liebe Augustin”. When it folded for economical and political reasons he moved on to Munich and the “Simplicissimus”. Most of his writing in this period was geared towards satirical critiques of current affairs and particularly the military and militarism, but he also included – often satirical – discussions of occult or metaphysical issues. In this he reflected not only his own preoccupations but he showed himself as a part of a cultural current, fascinated by ghost stories, psychic and psychological phenomena and centred on the coffee-houses of Prague, Vienna and Munich. “The Golem”, Meyrink’s first novel fit into this general atmosphere, but it is more than a period piece and remains important and an attractive read still today. The “golem” is a figure in old Jewish folktales and mystic, kabbalistic writings dating back to at least the 12th century. The Prague variety goes back to the 17th century. With the help of kabbalistic formulas Rabbi Löw then created from clay an articifical, very strong man to protect the Jewish population of Prague against an eviction order of Emperor Rudolf II. In view of the destructive work of the Golem in the city, the Emperor asked the Rabbi to disable the Golem and withdrew his antiJewish order. Meyrink’s novel is not a re-telling of this tale. Rather he develops an original dreamscape around the issues of identity and the different levels of consciousness, on the backdrop of the decaying “old Prague” and particularly the ruined old Jewish ghetto. Autobiographical traits, such as Meyrink’s prison experience or his esoteric quests are noticeable. The Golem here is no saviour but an elusive ghostlike “soul” of the old Jewish ghetto, deserted except for a few die-hard pure Jews such as the kabbalist Hillel and his daughter Miriam and a bunch of more or less criminal or down-andout elements using the uncontrollability of the topographically confusing quarter as a hide-out. On several levels Meyrink plays the “Doppelgaenger” topic: The teller of the tale, speaking in the first person, finds himself in a dream as the protagonist of the book, Athanasius Pernath, a cameo engraver who has lost his memory. Pernath is in search of his own identity and history. Several times he meets the Golem, who appears from a “house without exit” to roam the ghetto every 33 years, and gradually Pernath begins to see in him his “other self”. Yet, the Golem seems more a representation of the ghosts of the past, whereas Hillel, the kabbalist, is accepted by Pernath as his spiritual Page 13

Tarosophist International guide. Yet, Pernath constantly veers between these two poles of attraction, similarly as he veers between Angelina, the noble woman entrusting her secrets to him, claiming to know him from the past and Miriam, the pure, otherworldly daughter of Hillel. The tarot cards appear in the pivotal scene, where Pernath accepts the Golem as his double. In the room of the Golem he finds a full pack of 78 tarot cards. But of these only two figure in the narrative – the Magician (Juggler) and the Hanged Man. First off, he picks up the “juggler, the lowest trump in the Tarock”. After putting on the old-fashioned clothes of the Golem, he recognises the Juggler resembling himself and in disgust he throws the card into a corner. In true Meyrink manner, the card begins to have a life of its own, growing, moving forward and back, making Pernath inwardly scream in horror - and then comes the key point, at which Pernath’s identification with Golem is shifted to the Juggler: “…now, it was…was taking on human form…the Juggler and was squatting in the corner and staring at me with vacant eyes out of my own face! For hour after hour I sat there without moving, huddled up in my corner, a frozen skeleton in mouldy clothes that belonged to another. And across the room he sat, he…I…myself.” Eventually, Pernath wrestles him down until he gets back into the playing card., which Pernath puts in his pocket. Then he looks through the tarot deck and recognises it as his own old deck, which he painted as a child. Bits of his memory come back, fleetingly. His attention focuses on the Hanged Man – and then the pack is not his old one after all. But he keeps the Juggler card. Later he meets Hillel and they talk about the kabbalah with Hillel referring to the “tarock” as “a book, which contains the whole Cabbala….”. Hillel goes on to explain that there are two different doubles one can meet and wrestle with, always with the risk to go mad in the process: the mere reflection of one’s own consciousness or the true double, “the Habal Garmin, ‘the breath of bones’ of which is said: ‘As it went down in the grave, in bone incorruptible, so it will rise up again on the day of Last Judgment’”. Though enlightened and having command over his double, the Habal Garmin, Pernath reverts back to the lower material level dealing with the problems of Angelina. In this situation he examines the Hanged Man again, but the symbol, which I think symbolises here full commitment to the spiritual quest, remains incomprehensible to him. Finally, torn between all his inner and outer conflicts which he seems unable to master, he decides to hang himself. As a last act, he collects all his money, gemstones etc. because he wants to give them to Hillel and Miriam. Before he can do so, he is arrested and falsely accused of murder. He spends three months in prison. On his clearance from the accusation and his release, he finds his old life gone. The ghetto is demolished; nearly all the people he knew have vanished or died. He cannot find Hillel and Miriam. When he tries to save himself from a fire at Christmas Pernath hangs in the posture of the Hanged Man between life and death – and awakens from his dream, no longer Athanasius Pernath. Page 14

Tarosophist International The novel has more layers and more occult – alchemical, kabbalah and other - symbolism than related here. It is still a fascinating novel as are Meyrink’s other occult books as well as many of his smaller pieces. For introduction, Meyrink’s biography by Mike Mitchell is much recommended. Meyrink’s Golem was a great success and found wide distribution particularly through its “Feldpost”-Edition, which was distributed to soldiers in the Great War. It continued to be successful, more than any other work of Meyrink. The author himself continued his life through various ups and downs. He worked as a free writer and translator, which was nearly always economically precarious. In the 20s he was on a number of occasions vilified as a Jew (which he was not) or an “anti-national”. All his life he continued his yoga exercises and his studies of the occult. He died in Starnberg in Bavaria in 1932. The Nazis banned his books, which were republished after the war. Meyrink was never considered as an author of the same standing as Kafka or the Mann brothers nor did he himself strive for this kind recognition. Especially in his novels, his occult messages were more important to him than the “state of the art” of literary production. His haunting atmospheric descriptions, based on the anguish and the at times obsessive striving in his own experience are what make his work outstanding in its own way.

Footnotes 1 http://trionfi.com/tarot/0p-early-playing-cards-documents/20-early-German-cardproducers/index.php 2 See Goodwin/Katz, Learning Lenormand, Llewellyn (Forthcoming May 2013) 3 Quoted in Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens, de Gruyter 1937, p. 773f. (diverse reprints available, also online in Google Books) 4 The Tarot – the cabbalist method of querying for the future as a key to occultism. 5 Available on the Internet in German http://www.internetloge.de/etkt/etkt.htm, including black/white illustrations of Kurtzahn’s deck and 10 spreads. 6 Kurtzahn speaks erroneously of „Hebrew-Egyptian“ letters. 7 A short article in German on Glahn’s tarot with illustrations of a few of ist cards by Susanne Schöfer http://www.tarotwelten.de/taspec12.html and by Susanne Zitzl in „Tarot heute“, 13/2007, the journal of the German Tarotverband e.V. www.tarotverband.de/downloads/tarotheute_1-2007.pdf 8 Meyrink did not keep a diary or his personal correspondence. 9 Contemporaries of Meyrink include writers like Franz Kafka, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Hermann Hesse, among his friends in Prague and Munich were Max Brod, the friend and later editor of Kafka and the artist Alfred Kubin. Page 15

Tarosophist International 10 Especially in the „Golem“, „Walpurgisnacht“ and his late essay“ The City with the Secret Heartbeat“. 11 Quoted in the only English biography of Meyrink, Mike Mitchell’s „Vivo“, 2008. 12 The Golem theme has received much attention by writers and film-makers. A very interesting feminist SF/fantasy version is Marge Piercy’s Body of Glass., also published under the title, He, She and It. 13 All quotes from Mitchell. 14 Vivo: The Life of Gustav Meyrink (Dark Master Series), Daedalus 2008, also available as a Kindle edition.

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Bringing Tarot toMagical Life

by Diana Granger-Taylor

Carnesky’s Tarot Drome, described as “an immersive promenade theatre show that brings the mystical characters of the Tarot deck to life” is an official show of the London 2012 Festival, and the final event of London’s Cultural Olympiad, taking place at The Old Vic Tunnels in London from 4 to 15 September 2012. Diana Granger-Taylor from Tarosophist International spoke with its creator, Olivier Award-winning performance artist Marisa Carnesky (photograph right in Empress mode, by Manuel Vason), about her creation, and her magical and artistic intentions, inspirations and workings connected to it.

Tarot Drome is a multi-disciplinary affair. I have gathered together an acrobat with a circus theatre and contemporary dance background (Rowan Fae), a contortionist (Nina Felia), a professional roller skater ( London Roller Girl Traumata), a Lucha Britannia wrestling star (Phil ‘The Playboy’ Bedwell), a mime (Rhyannon Styles), a hula hoop champion (Chi Chi Revolver), an esoteric TV presenter (Jason Karl), two burlesque dancers (Sumi Sumatra and Vicky Butterfly), a surrealist live art choreographer (‘H’), actors, singers and musicians (Rasp Thorne and The Briars), to create an immersive show in which the performers become the Major Arcana through their physical performance, describing the concepts of each trump visually. Every night, our 400-strong audience interacts with us, so that they have a parallel experience in learning the meaning and lessons of each card. When I came up with the concept of the show, I approached the artists and encouraged them to bring their material and skills to the project in a collaborative way. I set a challenge for each performer to invoke the cards into themselves, to channel the idea of the card through their physical performance. On entering the performance space, held in the old railway tunnels which are now part of the Old Vic theatre franchise (of which Kevin Spacey is Artistic Director), each audience member is invited to choose three sideshow acts out of a list of ten, each of which is a Major card. This is effectively like a three-card reading for the audience member. Before leaving each sideshow attraction, the audience member collects a memento object from the card, then takes these to The World (who I play) and The Hierophant for interpretation. The entire audience then watches a wrestling match between The Emperor (Rasp Thorne, above in photograph by Manuel Vason) and Strength, refereed by The Hierophant, who turns into The Devil, and then Raphael of the RWS Lovers card. Finally, the audience is treated to a roller spectacular of all the constellation cards. Each of the Major cards in their sideshow act is an installation piece. For example, Temperance (played by Rowan Fae) balances over a fish tank filled with water: will she fall in or not?

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Tarosophist International If she falls in, how will she fare? Temperance will have an assistant filling small test tubes from the waters of the tank and handing them to the audience members participating to bring back for their ‘reading’. Death (played by Nina Felia) is a contortionist surrounded by a sculpture made of body limbs, death masks, and other similar objects, as well as a font full of plaster. Death will do casts of fingers, hands, etc. of selected members from her audience. The intensity of the experience for both performers and audience will vary depending on the level of interaction between them. I first got into Tarot when I was a teenager in North London in the 1980s. I joined a ‘coven’ in Tottenham, and we chanted and did visualisations, we made our own soaps and candles, hedgewitchy type stuff. Then I got interested in Psychick TV and Genesis P-Orridge, the mysticism around the number 23, and the making of ritual. As a performance artist, I was increasingly using the body and psychic energy in work. I also got into ‘magic’ in the form of stage illusion – in fact, our version of The Magician in the show is doing the cup and balls trick, which I’ve taught him. Regarding ‘magick’ with a ‘k’, performance artists, even if they haven’t studied magic, are working with archetypal imagery all the time. There are also ‘live art’ performers who work with materials like blood and other bodily fluids. Aside from these influences, I am also intrigued and interested in Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘psychomagic’, and so have studied with and had input from Richart Carrozza, who is one of Jodorowsky’s most active associates in using Tarot for psychomagical work. Jodorowsky uses the Tarot images as triggers to go into deeper issues that someone’s dealing with and affected by. My primary intention with Tarot Drome was to make it a theme park of the soul. When anyone visits a theme park, they experience exciting physical movement through a space or set of experiences, but these tend to be throwaway. I have been exploring this theme for some time, for example, in my previous project Ghost Train, which is now permanent in Blackpool. With Tarot Drome I wanted to marry the thrill of the theme park with the skill of the performers and a deeper connection with the audience. In Tarot terms, what gets lost in a lot of shows is the ritual aspect of theatre. By ‘doing’ Tarot archetypes, we want to move the audience to connect with their subconscious. I am interested in the history and archetypes of Tarot, also in Jung and psychotherapy – using the Tarot as a psychotherapeutic tool. With Tarot Drome I want to get back to the cards, to go back to the concepts that are in the cards. The archetypes don’t belong to any religion or sect, they are a powerful tool. I lived in Mexico City for a while several years ago. The subway there doesn’t use written signs or names for the stations, as Nahuatl Indians don’t all read the same language and have different dialects. Instead of bearing lettered name signs, each station is represented by a symbol, for example, a bird, or a book. In visual performance, you communicate with the language of the body. In this way you can use performance to communicate the symbols in a Tarot card. The Tarot becomes physicalised, a 3D emotional and physical experience for the audience. In casting the show, I tried people out in different characters, mainly matching their skills to the visual symbol. Nevertheless, we found quite excitingly that the cards found their performers! For example, our Justice is a singer, singing different scales. The performer playing Justice (Claire Rabbitt, who used to sing with the Medieval Bæbes) has recently started studying to become a lawyer, she’s a pragmatic yet empathic person, and has a completely logical, rational, sharp, incisive legal mind.

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Tarot cards designed for Carnesky’s Tarot Drome based on what the performers will be doing in the show. The illustrator is John Bishop.

As part of my interest in history, I have a Fellowship at the National Fairground Archive, and specialise in studying the stories of women in the circus and variety arts. I am interested in the history of these women who ran and performed in these shows, and am writing a book with Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Show Women, about them. I approach people who have their own identity and experience in theatre, and showcase their unique contribution to our field of experience. Actress Marusa Geymer Olbak, who plays The Tower in our show, comes from the former Yugoslavia, and as part of her piece she shares stories about her harrowing experience during and immediately after the Balkan conflict. Tarot Drome is half-chaos in the improvisational nature of each performance. Nevertheless, we tried to create some structure to proceedings based on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, counting back up from Malkuth and The World at 10, then meeting the constellations and Judgement and finally meeting The Fool at 0. Colour is another major aspect to the show. I spoke with Richart and James Elphick of Guerrilla Zoo, both Jodorowsky proponents, and they suggested we use the primary colours of the Tarot de Marseille. I wasn’t so sure, and when I mooted the idea to our designer, Claire Ashley, she felt it would be too restrictive to follow as a rule. Also, I have an Eastern European heritage, my family having over the generations travelled west from the far reaches of Eastern Europe before ending up in England. We thus decided to use a colour palette more in keeping with the golds and russets of the RWS deck and the colours of the English seasons. Our Empress (played by Sumi Sumatra) has a background in Indonesian dance, and she was inspired to portray her character like the goddess Dewata. She has many arms, each holding a fruit, a flower, an offering, which she shares with audience members. We have used a lot of pomegranates in her side show. She is incredibly sensual, warm, gentle and generous, and casts a spell around the audience to draw them into the performance. I want the audience to feel the wonder and magic I feel every time I get my Tarot deck Page 20

Tarosophist International out. I’m interested in popular culture, the people’s culture, the fairground, the Tarot and how people interact with it all: the pure, visceral enjoyment of life, despite the chaos of the roller coaster and the fear of Death and the ghost train.

Further information

Carnesky’s Tarot Drome, 4-13 September 2012 is at the Old Vic Tunnels, Station Approach Road, London SE1 8SW, (www.carneskystarotdrome.com). Music from the show by Rasp Thorne and The Briars will be available for digital download after September 2012; check http://raspthorneandthebriars.com/ for further information and updates. Carnesky’s Ghost Train is a permanent attraction at Flagstaff Gardens, The Promenade, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 1BB, (www.carneskysghosttrain.com/). Guerrilla Zoo is a revolving collective of artists, musicians and performers from around the world who create unique and immersive works and environments in London. They regularly host workshops into the Jodorowsky Method of Tarot during the year. Richart Carrozza (friend and apprentice of Alejandro Jodorowsky for over 18 years) will be running a two-day Jodorowsky Method of Tarot workshop highlighting the therapeutic practice of Psychomagic on 8 and 9 September 2012, as well as being available for one-to-one Tarot readings using the Jodorowsky psychomagical method of Tarot on 6 and 7 September 2012, in London. For further details and to book, please go to www.guerrillazoo.com/tarot-with-richart-carrozza. Reservations are on a first come, first served basis.

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Tarot and the Inner Guide Meditation By Marcus Katz

9:15. (She postpones further pipes). I ask for proof of identity. She sees a hand, black, pointed nails, jewels on fingers. (This corresponds with my own visions of Him.) Four petalled-rose – golden – I ask Him for a Word. He says SEN (? 111 ?) YAN. These mean – a tube leading into a mountain. Then a series of dots and dashes. (? interpret symbol by Yi ?) The arm again – sweeping yet broader – but slower. Now – she’s within”. Aleister Crowley, The Magical Record of the Beast (p. 278) In a rustic cottage somewhere outside of Geneva, Switzerland, at 11:30pm, on August 20th 1988, a computer salesman found himself staring at an ancient door of cedarwood. Upon it were carved two snakes, which appeared to be eating each other in a cycle of life and death. The salesman took a deep breath and opened the door, walking through it into a dark pool of blood, lukewarm, a little up to his calf. I asked him, “what do you see?” and he slowly replied, “fish”. I asked him what the fish represented, and he immediately, yet drowsily, replied “Silence. They are the silence of the mind, drowned in the blood of matter”. I pressed him again, “What else do you see?” He looked about him and said, “A Fox. His name is Reynard. And a crab. It has such a fragile shell, but is able to slough it off and be reborn forever.” His speech was becoming more confident, more immersed, as he said, “And a dog, like a winter dog, it’s name is Yeshed or something”. At this point, I realised that the salesman had made a semi-accurate correspondence between the Moon of the Tarot deck and the Sephirah, Yesod, of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Although he had been given the card image to contemplate before closing his eyes and entering into the active imagination technique called “the inner guide meditation” (IGM), he had no knowledge of Kabbalah. This was typical of many hundreds of such workings we have conducted over the last twenty-five years, now filling boxes of notebooks and journals. Later that same evening, the salesman, who was performing this working with four other people, all on their own separate journeys, was to conduct a lengthy conversation with a Priest of Anubis, who spoke to him of the mysteries of self-identity and the nature of the Jackal. The following day he would be dressed as normal in a suit and tie, selling computers to companies across Switzerland. In entering into a card for a visualisation exercise such as the IGM, he was following an esoteric tradition of “pathworking” going back to the Golden Dawn and possibly prior to their popularisation of such “rising in the spheres” or inner journeying. The published and unpublished notebooks and journals of Golden Dawn adepts – and those passing through their ranks such as Aleister Crowley – are littered with extracts of these types of working. In my teaching, I refer most to the work of Edwin Steinbrecher (1930 – 2002), whose Page 22

Tarosophist International titular book, The Inner Guide Meditation (latest print, Weiser, 2006) was for a time the singular source of my own esoteric work. In combining it with the work of Crowley, the constructs of the Golden Dawn, and then plugging it into Enochian, Alchemical, Kabbalistic and Tarot work, it opened a true “treasure house of images” for myself, and many hundreds of others in workshops throughout the last two decades. The method can be used for accessing the Tarot in an experiential and deep manner. Here is an extract of a typical record of such a working, in this case using the card of the Emperor. The scryer first has to ascend the Tree of Life through various paths; we join her in Yesod: I approach an altar, upon which is the Temperance card. There is a chalice, from which I have to drink – it is the harmony of Netzach and Hod, and I feel somewhat strange having drunk from it. I see a cube flashing up before me, turning into different angles. It is showing me how one folds into oneself. I continue out of the room and wander through verdant fields of grass, eventually arriving at another altar which I somehow know is Tiphareth. There is a cross upon it, and the symbolism of sacrifice suddenly overwhelms me. I see the cube turning into the cross – it is the little self being sacrificed into the larger self. I cannot grasp it. A light strikes the altar. I sense that unless the door is open above, no light shines. It has to flow continually – blocking it any point disperses it. [I guide the scryer to a glade, where he will meet the Ram, the symbol of the Emperor] I ask the name of the Ram, but I get instead the sense of perseverance. It is an energy that anticipates the future. It creates the future. I understand again this is to do with the cross and the cube, the light flow too, everything is connected, giving one message. Now I get the name of the Ram, it is Amenka [this is the Ancient Egyptian, Amen – Ka, the “Throne or Ruler of Life”, unbeknownst to the Scryer]. The Ram, Amenka, takes me on to the Emperor, a vast figure enthroned in flame. [I ask the scryer to have the Emperor explain the concept of his energy]. The Emperor states that he is the impulse. He is what precedes desire. He is the force that empowers the play of creation. He imparts something to me, a sense of joy – a joy of acting purely on an urge, for the play of it. I never realised before just how joyful is this card; the push of creation. The Ram now takes me onwards, he cannot linger. The Emperor must watch his creation, the light is a constant communication from above to below; this is the secret of his responsibility. A divine feedback loop, a constant movement and response to movement. And yet he appears still. It is like the Sufi story of the student admiring the power of the spinning dancers, lost in ecstasy, until the Master points to an Elder sat utterly enrapt, and utterly still; “there is power”, he says. I return to the altar with the Temperance card. And now I experience it totally differently. I sense how the card is “power” on the downgrading of the light, and “purification” on its upgrading. The card has two totally different angles, like the cube I saw. I now return …

In this transcript, we get a sense of how these journeys give creative insight in an experiential manner to the participant. They are truly esoteric for they access deep reserves and wells of the psyche, archetypal patterns and dream-like symbolism. Whilst they sometimes sound meaningless, to the participant they can be fundamentally transformative. The esoteric connection is invaluable in approaching this work, as the Scryer or outside guide should be reasonably conversant in symbolism and correspondence. This avoids the participant becoming totally awash and lost in a sea of disconnected imPage 23

Tarosophist International ages. The “test” of the spirits, as we saw with our quote from Crowley at the start of this article, is essential. This is done through correspondence – a being in a vision or working of the Emperor should return a cognate symbol such as a Mars sigil, the colour red, the number 4, etc., when tested. Otherwise the working may be amiss. How this works is perhaps a mystery, or perhaps a simple mechanism of our brains in their pattern-making and interpretation of experience, but it does work. The most esoteric nature of these workings is when we introduce the idea of a “coded question” to the working. This is when the person guiding the experience presents a “code” version of a question for the participant to present to one of the beings within the card or vision. The participant has no idea what the question may be, other than say three letters, such as “W. R. E.” These may have been chosen by the guiding person as a shorthand for “What should this person do to Release Energy in their career?” The participant then reports the responses of the being, or inner guide, etc., within themselves, to whom the question has been given. This can produce some incredible results. We have had many occasions of participants answering almost fluently the question, even if they themselves have no conscious knowledge of the question, nor understand the content of their answer. Sometimes, the inner guides may refuse to answer the question, or answer in a humorous manner – their response is as varied as it would be asking any other range of people. Having worked with the introductory material of the IGM, students can later progress to more intense visionary experiences, utilising their background in the IGM symbolism, which after some years will have provided them a primum materia with which to work. We conclude with a brief extract of Crowley’s most intense visions, in the Vision and the Voice, a series of esoteric workings through the Enochian planes of existence: This is the mystery of the sixth key of the Taro, which ought not to be called The Lovers, but The Brothers. In the middle of the card stands Cain; in his right hand is the Hammer of Thor with which he hath slain his brother, and it is all wet with his blood. And his left hand he holdeth open as a sign of innocence. And on his right hand is his mother Eve, around whom the serpent is entwined which his hood spread behind her head; and on his left hand is a figure somewhat like the Hindoo Kali, but much more seductive. Yet I know it to be Lilith. And above him is the Great Sigil of the Arrow …

Aleister Crowley, The Vision and the Voice, pp. 225-6 This was thirty years prior to Crowley’s work with Frieda Harris to design one of the most recognised Tarot decks in the world, the Thoth Tarot. It is in these esoteric visions that the seeds of our future are often discerned, for they come from the depths of what we are becoming. --We offer an Inner Guide Meditation Workbook, which aligns your own Natal Chart to Tarot images and provides instructions for using this technique to work on your personal patterns. http://www.tarotprofessionals.com/innerguide.html Page 24

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Bio Marcus Katz is the author of Tarosophy and co-director of Tarot Professionals. He has worked with the Western Esoteric Initiatory System for thirty years and was the first student to be conferred an M.A. in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter. He holds an M.B.A. and is the co-author of the best-selling Around the Tarot in 78 Days, and Tarot Face to Face. His next work is the Magister, a ten-volume comprehensive guide to the Western Esoteric Initiatory System.

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An Inner Guide Mediation Journey by Tali Goodwin

As an example of an Inner Guide Meditation journey, as covered in the article by Marcus Katz in this issue, I provide here an extract from one of my own. The Journey begins on a shoreline and I find myself facing a limestone and chalky coastline, all is bright and white, an illumination fuelled by the power of the sun’s rays. I look down at the transparent jelly sandals I wear on my feet. I look up and feel impelled to walk closer to the Cliff and find out what is held within its fortress. I trudge through the warm sand until I can reach out and touch the cliff, my fingers flinch to the touch of Gorse growing there. I find the entrance of a cave, dark, damp and cool. I walk into the silent cave, and underfoot I crunch the shells. I have to find my way through the cave, I need to find a way out, and at the back of the cave I find an opening to the other side. I stand outside; my eyes hurt with the sudden light, once again it is sunny and bright. Beyond me there is a bowl-shaped crater, and out of it an animal pops up; it sees me and scurries to greet me. I ask his name. Its name he tells me is ‘Geronimo’ and that he is accompanied by the spirit of ‘Bravery’. It is made clear to me it important to honour this spirit; so I ask “how do I do so?” He tells me “I must grab hold of his silver fox tail and let him take me forward to meet my guide”. I do as he says, and I say “yes” to this and hold onto his silver fox fur and he takes me to a Giant, who is green from head to toe. To test out the Guide I ask him to point to the Sun. He points to the side, and his finger draws out a circle in the air. I ask what is the connection? He replies that the connection is “bonding” and “joining”. I also ask him if he is my guide and can he give me his name? He says that he is my Guide and yes he gives me his name. I ask him if he has some cards for me, and he replies “yes” to this. What are they? I ask. He says they are the “Sun” and the “Star”. He tells me they esoterically mean the “Health of the Rainbow” They are to warm and water its rays. I am told now to “hold the rainbow and weep”. He asks me to choose one of the colours of the Rainbow. I choose “Purple” . He asks me to wear it for him in the outside world. I ask my Guide, “O.B”. [This was a coded question]. He tells me to find the nearest dictionary and look specifically for page 72, and count 54 lines from the top-left of that page. This is the answer to my question. [I did this Page 26

Tarosophist International afterwards and found a word that was a stunning answer to the question that I had been asked]. I exit the cave. I find myself outside, it is dryer and brighter. Later I meet again with the guide: I find my way back to the cave. On the other side the Fox is waiting he says “Got to find the guide… he is hiding”. The fox sidles down, low to the ground, sniffing as he does so. He then tells me “The guide is up the Tree”. The Guide tells me to “find a pool, swim to the bottom, find the Pearl”. I then take this pearl to the Moon and the Devil …….. they are both deep down a Mine, a Tin mine, where I find lots of fire, smelting and forging. I ask “What gift shall I give in return for this Pearl?” The Devil tells me “The Sweat of your Work”. I ask the Devil how I should do this smelting in my outer life? He tells me “by doing and not stopping”. I ask of the Moon a gift to assist this work. The Moon gives me a Sword. What’s written on Sword? “Strength & Strife go hand in hand”. I leave the Mine and the Fox returns me to the Cave, from where I exit upon the beach and leave the working.

Bio Tali Goodwin is the Marketing Director and co-founder of Tarot Professionals Ltd, the largest professional tarot organization in the world. She is the co-author of the best-selling Around the Tarot in 78 Days (Llewellyn, 2012), and Tarot Face to Face (Llewellyn, 2012). Her book on the Lenormand system, Learning Lenormand will be published May 2013. She presented on the Lenormand at the Tarot Masters event in Brazil and organizes the Tarosophy TarotCon conventions in the UK, USA, also in planning for Australia and worldwide. She has co-authored innovative teaching books such as Tarot Flip, which is regularly a best-selling Tarot book on Kindle. Tali is a skilled researcher with a long-standing passion for genealogy and is credited for bringing the Waite-Trinick Tarot to publication in Abiding in the Sanctuary: The Waite-Trinick Tarot. She also brought to light the Original Lenormand deck from the British Museum. Her blog is at www.tarotspeakeasy.com.

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Editorial

by Jon Kaneko-James

So, we’ve been spending a lot of time looking at Esoteric Tarot. It’s been the neglected sibling recently, with all of the cooler kids coming up, like semiotics, Jungian psychology and symbolism it’s been getting a little dusty on the shelf. The traditional view of divination as it’s expressed in the root word divinare, or to be inspired by God, has very much gone by the wayside. For some, the idea of communication with the divine is no longer credible, and any belief in magic as a metaphysical force for interaction with outer reality is relegated to the DSM-IV (although, I’ll never understand why they then choose to spend their time messing around with Tarot cards,) for others, they feel that the pseudo-scientific comfort of Jung’s theories are more credible than believing in an invisible man who tells us the future using pieces of paper (I don’t believe this, I believe that an invisible man will tell us the present using absolutely any randomised matrix we can think of, because time is an illusion and the gods are out there laughing at us.) Hell, the ancient Greek’s had a method for divining the future using cheese. Then there are the semioticists. Well... I call them that... mostly because I don’t what else to call them. I don’t like them. They touch the same nerve as Damien Hurst and Tracy Emin: I look at their art, and even when I like it I can’t get over the idea that they’re out there somewhere laughing into their palms because they can’t quite believe we bought what they were selling. I feel the same about some of the more popular newfangled ideas circulating in the Tarot community: as if we’re all on some massive hidden camera show with the audience dutifully supplying canned laughter as we nod sagely at the latest piece of nonsense. I’d say I was getting old, but I’m at least ten years younger than most of the people coming out with some of this stuff. A part of it is the fact that I think the invisible man who tells the future is more plausible than the idea that any of us fallible meatbags have the slightest useful thing to say to each other when it comes to rational advice giving. Seriously, engage in a thought experiment for me: the next time you get the urge to give someone advice, ask yourself, am I really such a great person with such a perfect life that I should be telling them how to live theirs? Then imagine that if you get it wrong you’ll be locked in an airless box for 3 minutes with the infamous Bengalese groin-scorpions. I started asking myself that question a few years ago because occasionally my ego disengaged and I started listening to myself talking instead of imagining what I thought I sounded like. I decided that I had to be a diviner, not just a Tarot reader, because at the end of the day people rarely pay for a Tarot reading because they’re free of problems. They come for advice and listen to it. The advice of a deity based on a semi-omniscient, pan-temporal view of things... I can charge them for that, but not the advice of a 34 year old married man who still watches cartoons. But the thing is, the very principals I belive in call bullshit on me. If we look a the Tree of Life, we get a progression of reality down from the highest level of creation (Atziluth) to the world of shells (Assiah.) In Alchemy we can break down the planetary symbols into a series of important metaphysical principals: the circle, representing Page 28

Tarosophist International pure divine energy, sometimes called spirit; the crescent, representing the mind/soul; finally, the cross of matter, which rather explains itself. And sadly, I have to admit that if my thesis was right the planets would look different, for example they’d all look a bit more like the sun with various withered crescent or cross shapes dangling off them. And that’s if I’m flattering myself. You see, even if I don’t like the behaviour of certain maleifics, like Saturn, I’d never be stupid enough to say that things would be better if we kicked them out of Astrology. All of our different approaches have something, whether it’s the cross of matter or the crescent of soul. As to my fear of the newfangled, as a friend who actually presents papers in the academic study of the Esoteric said once, “Everything is made up by someone at some point.” One of the greatest myths in Tarot was certainly made up by someone: Court de Geblin, a Parisian scholar, philosopher and (possibly) magician was visiting the house of a rich Dutchess some time in the 1770s when he was suddenly struck by the revelation that Tarot was a lost book of Egyptian wisdom that had escaped the sacking of Egypt by barbarians. In his defense he was an old man at this point, and there was a chance that the chance of financial patronage coupled with the faintest possibility of getting some sex, made something short out in his brain, triggering euphoric visions of Tarot inception. It was less than twenty years (much less than twenty years) when the Rosetta Stone was found, proving De Geblin wrong. On the other hand, by then he’d performed one of the most critical acts in Tarot: pairing up the 22 trumps with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These, in turn, had already been linked up with the planets and Astrological signs via the metaphysical contortions based around the Sefer Yetzirah, a book of Hebrew Esotericism currently dated as coming from about 2 CE. This kicks us off on the whole Neo Platonic Tarot journey: Etteilla produces his Grand Etteilla Tarot. Levi and Papus do their thing. All of this contributes to the metling pot of influences upon Edward Arthur Waite and Pamela Coleman-Smith when they got together to make one of the most ubiquitous Tarot decks to date: the Rider Waite Smith Tarot. Whether you’re an oracle deck reader, a modern deck fan or a Tarot de Marseilles it’s incredibly unlikely you haven’t been influenced on some level either directly by the RWS, or by thought arising from it, and one of the most important influences on the RWS is the Sefer Yetzirah... which... some time in 2 CE... was probably written by someone. Not only that, but for all my Scepticism about a linguistic and psychological view of Tarot it’s worth forcing myself to remember the fact that Court de Geblin, the man who birthed a huge chunk of modern esotricism, based most of his work on Linguistics and the idea of the interrelatedness of things, not to mention the idea of a root lanugage behind all others. Tarot was a game, which became a study of symbolism and semiotics, which then became an Esoteric system, which became a study of Pyschology and interconnectedness, which is currently being touted as a gigantic symbolic and linguistic system. The wheel turns.

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Tarosophist International #12 Tarot Professionals© 2011

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